Qatar National Library (QNL) will be hosting a special open day on April 18 for all members of the community to explore its remarkable Heritage Collection.
It is comprised of a rare trove of manuscripts, books, and artefacts documenting a wealth of Arab-Islamic civilisation and human thought.
The Heritage Collection will reside in the centre of QNL’s new building, designed by renowned architect Rem Koolhaas. QNL is a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.
The open day is being held in celebration of the International Day for Monuments and Sites, observed under the theme ‘Heritage of Education.’
Dr Claudia Lux, QNL’s project director, described the Heritage Collection as something families, students, researchers and tourists can see, explore, and enjoy.
“With ambitious efforts to digitise and share these rare materials already underway, the Qatar National Library, under the leadership of QF chairperson HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, is doing its part to bridge Qatar’s rich heritage with its future using knowledge,” she explained.
Dr Lux expressed gratitude to Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed al-Thani “for his generosity and passion in assembling such a significant and relevant historical record for the people of Qatar and the Gulf.”
The International Day for Monuments and Sites is observed on April 18 every year to celebrate the diversity of heritage throughout the world. The day was proposed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites in 1982 and approved by the General Assembly of Unesco in 1983.
This year, libraries, schools, universities and academies around the world will celebrate the history of education across cultures and geographies by exploring and preserving valued cultural assets such as Qatar’s Heritage Collection.
Beginning in the 1980s with Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed al-Thani, the Heritage Collection is described as an unparalleled contribution of historical sources about Qatar, including writings by travellers and explorers who visited the Arabian Gulf region.
Among its more than 100,000 works, the collection contains an edition of Ptolemy’s Geographia, printed in Rome in 1478 and is the oldest printed map showing the name of Qatar or referred to in Latin as ‘Catara.’
The collection also houses a rare volume of pictures consisting of the first detailed photographs of Makkah taken in 1888 by Dutch scholar Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje.
HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser announced on 19 November 2012, the new QNL, which is helping to bridge Qatar’s heritage with its future by preserving the nation’s rich cultural and historical record and by providing the necessary tools for lifelong learning, invention, and research.
Qatar National Library will be offering the public tours to shed light on the Heritage Collection’s most treasured items. An exclusive programme for students from local schools will take place in the morning.
Tours will commence at 1pm and continue until 6pm. QNL’s Heritage Collection is currently housed at 71 Al-Maha Street, off Luqta Street near Immigration Roundabout.
QNL’s digital media collections, including concerts, documentaries, and the latest bestsellers, can be accessed free on www.qnl.qa
Those who are unable to attend on April 18, may visit www.qnl.qa/visit-request-form to fill in a request for a tour of the Heritage Collection later.